Stay With Me
by stelena-forever-and-always
Summary: Short one-shot about Stefan's hallucinations of Elena and her dreams of him.


**I do not own TVD because if I did, season 4 would NOT have ended the way it ended. Enjoy! :D  
**

How was it that even though she was with Damon, she still had Stefan in her heart? Why was it that for the past three months, all her dreams every night were about Stefan? It almost seemed as if they were messages being sent to her, but from who or from where? At first the dreams were only once a week but then, she had them each day. Even stranger, she often waited to go to sleep just to see Stefan's green eyes that never aged no matter how many years he had lived. Sometimes, she even denied Damon's request to "have fun before bed" just to have a dream sooner. She wasn't still in love with Stefan, was she?

* * *

The hallucinations were much more frequent now. They were happening every day. Even worse, they grew more vivid and real as time went by. How long had he been trapped in this safe now? A few weeks? A month? Two? It felt like forever. His only escape was when he saw Damon. It was never the best way to escape, especially now. For the last few visits, Damon had desperately been trying to convince him to turn off his emotions. He could never bring himself to do it, though. It had been so hard to come back last time, he couldn't do it again. Also, even if he _did _turn it off, it wouldn't take all the pain away permanently. Suddenly, Stefan was in his home looking out the window. He could feel Damon's presence behind him.

* * *

She gradually fell asleep. Soon enough, she found herself in a dream. She was on a wooden deck and in front of her was a lake. Looking around, she realized that she was at her family's lake house and the lake in front of her was Dunham Lake. What would happen in this dream? Nothing usually happened but as her emotions had gotten stronger over the past few weeks, the more eventful her dreams were. She soon heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Stefan standing by the house. He wore the grey hoodie that she had always loved.

* * *

"Turn it off, Stefan"Damon said.  
"Don't you remember how hard it was to come back last time? How much I lost in the process",he asked. He turned around to see what his brother's answer was.  
"You did the right thing. You walked away and let us be happy. How's that fair? Just turn it off."  
He thought about the idea. Should he turn it off? Would it help him? Soon enough, he was back in the safe. For the first time, the idea of turning it off sounded a bit appealing. He was about to turn it off, but then he heard her voice.

* * *

Suddenly, she felt something wrong, and the atmosphere of the dream shattered as she abruptly woke up. Opening her eyes, she looked around at her dark dorm room. Soon enough, she felt her eyes close and she fell asleep. When she came back to her dream, she was no longer at the lake house. Instead, she was in a house she didn't recognize at the moment. In front of her, she thought she could see the image of Stefan, and from what it looked like, he was about to turn his emotions off. No, she couldn't let him do it again. She tried to reach his mind somehow and try to get his attention. _Stefan, wait._

* * *

_Stefan, wait. _The words rang in his mind and he was taken back to where he had spoken to Damon. But instead of his brother, _she _stood before him. He could never forget how beautiful she was. Her chocolate eyes were fixed on his and she rested her hand on his cheek. She hadn't done that since they were last together as a couple. His heart was beating so fast, it had been so long since he had last seen her beautiful smile.

* * *

Stefan suddenly appeared before her. She was surprised to see him because this version of him looked so real. She put her hand on his cheek unintentionally; but it was a movement as common to her as breathing.  
"What are you doing here",he asked. He had never spoken in her dreams, but it was wonderful to hear his voice again after three surprisingly agonizing months without him.  
"I honestly don't know. Look, I know this is torture, but stay with me. Your humanity is the one thing that makes you who you are. Don't let go. Please Stefan. For me."

* * *

She always seemed to know what to say to him during his times of distress. He wouldn't let go, for her. He held her other hand and she willingly held on. He hadn't really meant to hold her hand, she was with his brother not him after all, but the gesture was something he was used to.  
"Please don't leave me, Elena."  
"I don't want to go. I don't want to leave. I'd rather spend forever here with you",she whispered. He put his hand over her's (the one on his cheek) and she smiled. She leaned closer to him.

* * *

She was so close to him that their bodies almost touched. There was only a small space between their faces and then there was no space at all. She had leaned in closer and had kissed him. She really hadn't meant to, but now that she did, she didn't want to stop. Her mind told her that she shouldn't be doing this, she was with Damon after all, but she didn't care. Her whole being wanted to be with Stefan like this right now. She could tell he was a bit confused, but he didn't pull away.

* * *

He couldn't believe that she had kissed him. For that whole moment, he didn't care if this was real or a hallucination or simply a dream. All he wanted was to never let go of her. To be honest, her lips tasted like memories. He let go of her hands and put his on her back.

* * *

After what felt like centuries later, she pulled away. His eyes were dilated; she could only barely see a slim band of green around his pupils.  
"I just want to see you again"he whispered.  
"You will, Stefan. We _will _be together again, I promise."

* * *

He was once again trapped in the safe, but he felt _different. _He had hope again.

* * *

She woke up. She hadn't wanted to leave him. She wanted to stay with him forever. She did love him. She knew what she needed to do. Whitmore College would have to wait. She promised him that they would be together again. She would find him. And she would be together with him again.

**I hope you liked it! Thanks so much for taking the time to read it! **


End file.
